Time Flies When You Are In LOVE!

What a dream...
As of August 26, 2011...Eric (Bo/Luke/Daddy) and I have been married for 11 years!!  How is that possible?  It seems like just yesterday I saw him on stage MC'ing for CCC (Campus Crusade for Christ) meeting at SJSU (San Jose State University).  Thinking to myself..."wow, he's super cute and what an amazing smile (and body)!  But what did he say his last name was?  Fieri?  You've got to be kidding me...he can't be related to me!!".  Later that night I found out his real last name...and the 'hunt' was on!!


Within a few weeks I had gotten over half of his 12 roommates to 'notice' me and even hang out with me (I'd go rollerblading with a few of them every Tuesday night, see others in class or around campus, I even colored one of his roommates hair for him)...all the while I was totally stalking Eric (Bo/Luke/Daddy) and he was completely clueless, let alone had NO idea who I even was!!  Granted, he worked a ton and had a "girlfriend"...allegedly (really they had only gone on one date).   Even the few times we would be at his house at the same time, I would be upstairs and he would be down (he literally had 12-16 roommates, so there was always a TON of people coming and going).


The first time Eric (Bo/Luke/Daddy) noticed me was when I joined a 'CCC 'committee group' the Social Committee and he happen to be one of the leaders of it (I honestly can't remember if I knew he was one of the leaders in charge or not...I just thought it sounded like a group I wanted to be involved in and it was a huge BONUS that Eric (Bo/Luke/Daddy) was freaking leading it!! 
Anyway, I was on my way to the first meeting of this Social Committee and my dorm room neighbor/friend told me to put on some lipstick...(I was going through a really bad Tom-Boy phase...pretty much wore soccer shorts every day and little to no make-up...add that with my Freshman 25 (thanks to all you can eat dorm food and mocha's, to top that off I had crazy acne (which I had never in my life had)...I was a freaking LOOKER, with a capital L! )  So I left my dorm wearing a t-shirt, warm-up pants, soccer sandals and bright red lipstick (which I borrowed from my friend/neighbor, who was Filipino and had a darker complexion and luscious lips...of which I have neither).  At the end of the day, I have her to thank...because it was that bright red lipstick that caught Eric's (Bo/Luke/Daddy) attention that night (note:  attention does not equal attraction...but it was a good first step)!!  And then my 'hunt' ended and his begun...(well at least that's what I would like to think) ; )  Following that meeting, we slowly became really good friends hanging out in mostly in groups...


Turning point...April 19, 1999 12:15am I got a call from my 'friend' Eric (Bo/Luke/Daddy) and he was like, "Hey I just got off work and it's your 21st birthday...can I take you for your first drink?"...as I left the dorm (hopefully not in warm-up pants...can't remember or have blocked it) my neighbor/friend started singing "Eric and Becky sitting in a tree...", it was no joke one of the best feelings EVER!  But of course at this point we were 'just friends'...but they were right we were going to be much more than just friends!  (sidenote:  for those begging for more details (ha!)): first drink was a "flaming Dr. Pepper" which is a glass of Budwieser with a shot of 151, lit on fire and splashed in the beer...it does kinda taste like Dr. Pepper).

Here is a pic of Eric (Bo/Luke/Daddy) and I, we hiked up to Punch Bowl falls (Oregon) and took a dip (as in...in and out...it was freaking cold!)...what did he see in me??

We started officially 'dating" a week or so after my birthday, engaged a year after that and married three months after engagement (why wait...if you know, you know).  We had a super fun (albeit short) courting period, with lots of memories. 

Eric (Bo/Luke/Daddy) owned a motorcycle and we used to go on a ton of day trips up to the beach on this curvy highway, in fact it was on one of those day trips where he proposed (sans motorcycle as he 'laid it down' a few months before).  He took me to this beach we loved to explore in and had wine and sandwiches...and then got down on his knee and said that he loved me and he wanted to be with me for the rest of his life and wanted me to be the mother of his children...and then just looked at me waiting for me to say 'yes', but he didn't really ask me a question...so I didn't know (my mind didn't know, what my heart did) for sure that he was proposing.  So I said something like..."thanks".  Then he caught on, grabbed the ring out of his pocket and said "will you marry me?".  And I was like, "yes yes yes" and totally tackled him onto the sand.  He took the ring out of the box and put it on my finger...it was so awesome, I know my words aren't doing it justice.  Later he took me to another beach (I had know idea why) and as we were walking on it, I saw a group of people circling a big bonfire and they were singing..."going to the chapel and their goin get married"...it was all of our friends from school.   He knew I would want to share our exciting news with all of our friends and family ASAP (I had already called my mom/sister), he was thoughtful from the start! (Of course my family and sister already knew that he was going to propose, he had asked my parent's permission and had shopped for rings with my sister a couple times).

Rehearsal Dinner...feeling amazing!

Then three months later on August 26th, 2000, the hottest day EVER at some crazy early time in the morning, like  10am (I was pretty anxious to marry this guy), my Dad walked me down the aisle (aka parking lot, we got married in a circular driveway...it did have a fountain in the middle at least...but it was technically a parking lot) and gave me away to my best friend and one and only love of my life.

One of my favorite pictures taken by one of Eric's (Bo's/Luke's/Daddy's) roommates:

And another self portrait of us on our honeymoon:

And BAM!  Freaking 11 years pasted in a blink of an eye!  With every year getting better and better...not sure how that is possible but it is...I (literally) thank God everyday for bringing Eric(Bo/Luke/Daddy) into my life, as life without him would totally SUCK!  ; )


Most recent self portrait...celebrating this year's anniversary at dinner:

Note to my husband of 11 years...
Just thinking of you makes my heart hurt and brings tears to my eyes.  Though it was your appearance that attracted me to you, it was your heart that drew me closer.  Your genuine, generous, loving, kind, beautiful heart.  As it happens the years have changed you physically, but your heart has remained the same and thus my love for you.  (Lucky for me I like what the years have done with you physically too!  But that's just a bonus I suppose ; ))
Thank you for loving and cherishing me for the past 11 years and thank you for making it so easy and effortless to love you back.   You are an amazing man of God and I thank Him everyday for you.

Wanna shoot for another 11 years??  ; )